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Rick George brings plenty of passion to CU Buffs

New AD takes over program that's trying to get back on its feet

By Kyle Ringo Buffzone.com

Posted:
07/17/2013 08:59:30 PM MDT

Updated:
07/17/2013 10:29:29 PM MDT

New Colorado athletic director Rick George must be crazy.

Why would a successful executive of a Major League Baseball franchise that has won two American League pennants in recent years choose to give up that job to take over an athletic department with major financial challenges and a football program trying to claw its way out of the cellar of the Football Bowl Subdivision?

"It's funny. The people that know me, this wasn't a surprise," George said. "The people that know me know this is my passion."

George said a lot of people helped him find his way back to Boulder but few played a bigger role in his return to a school and town he loves than his father, Dick.

George said his father had been encouraging him to return to college athletics prior to suffering a stroke last summer. Dick George died in October. He was 78.

"He kept telling me, 'You need to get back into college athletics. That's your passion,'" George said. "When this became available and came open, I was like, 'This is the right thing for me to do.' It was difficult (Tuesday) telling people that I'm leaving to come here, but now that I'm here, I'm thrilled with my decision.

George, who will begin work at CU in earnest on Aug. 12, played football at the University of Illinois in the 1980s before coming to CU to work for Bill McCartney. His days in Boulder helping build the Buffs into a national power and eventual national champion had a profound effect on him. It put the CU program on equal footing with his alma mater. He said he has kept CU and Illinois apparel in his closet in the years since he moved on to other positions and endeavors.

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He believes that passion for CU will help him succeed in turning around the department, updating the way it does business and reaching new heights in raising money and ticket sales.

"I can go out and help get people excited about this university and help fill the stands and get people excited about it," George said.

During his introductory press conference at Folsom Field on Wednesday, George acknowledged the department he is taking over has plenty of ground to make up on the competition in the Pac-12 Conference and many other schools around the nation. He's confident CU can chase down the competition with a consistent and persistent approach over time.

"I want everybody on the same rope, tugging in the same direction," he said. "I don't have all the answers, but the people around me do."

While his father's advice played in a big role in George deciding to make the career change, there were other factors at work. George said he and his wife have loved Colorado and the Boulder area since he worked here as director of football operations under former coach Bill McCartney.

He said they have been working on plans to build a home in the Breckenridge area and this move will either further those plans or allow them to alter them a bit with a home in Boulder.

"My wife and I have been working for this for 30 years," he said.

George said he understands he is facing a big challenge but he sees it as an opportunity. He said he expects rebuilding CU into a nationally competitive and prominent athletic department will be painful at times but achieving the goal will be worth going through the hard times he expects still lie ahead.

George said he plans to try to expand the departments donor base significantly by meeting with people face to face and selling them on a vision for what a successful athletic department can mean to the school and the community.

"I'm thrilled to be back in it," George said. "I've learned from the past and I think I'm the right guy for the job."

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